Crafting an Elevator Pitch

The elevator speech or USP (unique selling proposition) is essential to letting people know exactly what you do and the value of your product or service. Your elevator speech should evolve as your business grows and can be custom tailored to whomever you’re speaking with.

Your elevator speech can do more than communicate what you do; it can be a lead generation tool for your business.

Here’s How
Chances are your pitch is pretty broad. Making your pitch more specific depending on who you’re talking to will make it more memorable. When your pitch is more memorable, that person is more likely to refer business to you.

General Tips

Be customer-centric. Instead of talking about what you do, reframe your pitch around what you do for your customer. Always put yourself in your customer’s shoes and say, “what’s in it for me?”

Play to their desires. Imagine your prospects’ end-game. What do they ultimately want? If you can intuit this you can explain how your product or service will help them get there.

Soothe their fears. In the current economic climate, businesses are afraid of investing their money and are worried about whether new investments will pay off. People are also uncertain about the future and whether it’s a good time to invest. Address these fears initially and get them out of the way. Otherwise their doubts may linger and eventually prevent you from getting the “yes” you’re looking for.

Crafting an Elevator SpeechAnswer the questions then fill in your answers in the blanks below.

Who specifically is your target audience?

What does your target audience desire most of all?

What problem does your target audience have?

What product or service do you provide that fixes that problem?

Fill in The Blanks

I’m ____________________________ and I provide/help/serve ___________________(target audience)________________with
___________________(product or service)_____________________.
It helps/is a solution for_________________________(problem)____________________________ and allows them to achieve ________________________(desire)___________________.

Arielle Landsberg is co-founder and Design Director of creative marketing agency Tone Creative, based in Saratoga Springs, New York.